Kickoff For May 20, 2024
Greetings from the bottom of the world (or near enough to it)! A lot of strangeness is going on in the world right now, and I'm hoping this week's edition of the letter takes your minds off it. Or opens those minds to other forms of strangeness.
With that out of the way, let's get Monday started with these links:
Untangling Religion From Our AI Debates — Wherein Thomas Moynihan argues that rather than resorting to name calling with strong religious overtones — which not only distorts and dilutes debate and discourse about artificial intelligence — we should carefully consider those overtones and their origins.
From the article:
[T]he aim is to acknowledge whatever theological inheritances might lurk here and suggest what productively might be done with them, whilst ultimately exploring what it even means to uncloak secular religion.
Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Explain Value of Shock Therapy — Wherein we learn about how aperiodic activity in the brain might cause depression in some people, and about theories around why electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be so effective in treating those suffering from depression.
From the article:
[I]nduced seizures might help restore the brain’s balance of excitation and inhibition, which could have an overall antidepressant effect.
Job boards are still rife with 'ghost jobs'. What's the point? — Wherein we learn about the frankly despicable practice of advertising positions that companies never intend to fill, why it's nothing new, and why employers do that.
From the article:
The posted roles are more than just a talent vacuum sucking up resumes from applicants. They are also a tool for shaping perception inside and outside of the company. More than 40% of hiring managers said they list jobs they aren't actively trying to fill to give the impression that the company is growing.
The Dark Side of the Screen — Wherein we discover the history of, and reasoning behind, dark mode on device screens, and why more and more people are embracing it.
From the article:
Here lies another cultural divide behind the light and dark screen users. Programmers, the creators of the digital world, are more likely to opt for a black background. Ordinary consumers, who use computers for other needs, are more likely to use the light mode. By introducing the light mode, technologically unnatural to screens, computers have accommodated nonprofessional users.
His Best Friend Was a Warthog. It Decided to Kill Him — Wherein we learn the folly of trying to tame wild animals, and how doing that almost took the life of one idealistic man.
From the article:
Unlike domestic animals, which have been bred for generations to exhibit behaviors that humans deem favorable, wild animals are capable of dramatic shifts in behavior, even when they appear tame.
A Love Letter to Public Libraries — Wherein Julia Fischer shares her deep affection for the local library and what it means to her (and others) beyond being a repository of books.
From the article:
Libraries fulfill a social role unparalleled by other third places. Unlike your nearest Starbucks, libraries hold absolutely no expectation of money–spending. They provide free technological tools and support to the public. Their existence supports literacy among the homeless and low–income and aid underfunded public schools in their efforts. Libraries encourage reading among young people, often acting as a chief formational power behind children’s love of learning.
Obituary for a Quiet Life — Wherein Jeremy B. Jones reminds us that the passing of ordinary people, especially ones close to us, who lead the titular quiet life is as significant as the passing of the famous.
From the article:
All around us are these lives — heads down and arms open — that ignore the siren call of flashy American individualism, of bright lights and center stage. I’m fine right here is the response from the edge of the room, and that contentment is downright subversive. How could you want only that? the world demands. There’s more to have, always more.
What can we learn from John Rawls’s critique of capitalism? — Wherein Colin Bradley looks at the cooperation, and tensions between, liberalism and capitalism, and how the thinking of political philosopher John Rawls tries to reconcile the two.
From the article:
Rawls argues that capitalism violates two core tenets of liberalism: the principles of social equality, and of extensive political liberty. Moreover, reforms that leave the capitalist core in place are unlikely to be stable. Let’s look at each of these in turn.
The physics of languages — Wherein we learn how some academics and researchers are applying physics to linguistics to chart the spread and evolution of languages around the globe.
From the article:
[L]anguage dispersal typically occurs in parallel with language evolution, possibly causing it to split into dialects. This is similar to what happens in biology when a group within a species separates from the other members, developing its own characteristics and becoming a new species.